WORD FROM THE CHAIR
Greetings, all
I would like to extoll the virtues of Adobe CC subscription. From the outset, let me categorically state that I am in no way employed by Adobe, nor do I derive any remuneration in any form from them. This missive is directed at both converts and non-converts, as I am continually discovering time saving methods to use in post-processing. With the advent of AI (artificial intelligence), using both Photoshop (PS) and Lightroom (LR) is becoming more and more user-friendly. In my line of work, I need to be on and off site in a flash (pardon!) and my images need to be published the next day! So speed is of the essence. Lighting is always my big challenge; I am shooting indoors, with different light sources and luminosity contrasts. I find that using lights is too cumbersome and time consuming and therefore have come to realise that luminosity blending is the answer. Enter LR, PS and Photomatix! (Not employed by Photomatix either!) LR allows me to batch process the basics like white balance, chromatic aberration etc. and then send to Photomatix for HDR, and then finetune in PS. This saves me days of work!
The purists among us would by now be shouting, “Luminosity Masking!” and they would be right, but this process involves that dreaded word – Layers! Many people are put off when it comes to the use of layers in PS! I have attempted, on many occasions, to get to grips with L M, but have given up in despair! Here is where PS comes to the party; they constantly update their product to suit not only the graphic designers, but we mere mortals too. It is becoming more like “Paint-by-numbers”! I have just completed a tutorial on a free PS plugin called TK Lum-mask. It is a dumbed-down version of L M. I found it easy to use, and once I read the manual, as it were, will be making extensive use of it in the future.
If you are put off by the subscription concept, believe me, I was too, but now I would sooner sell one of my lenses than give up my subscription! It is well worth it! If it is the technical aspect that scares you, I am quite happy to run a regular working group in which we share skills and solve problems together, if there is sufficient interest. With the help of our life saver Zoom, we can include our UK and USA members too.
For CC subscribers, try this link.
Kind regards
Keith
Winners of Image of the Month
Winners of the Theme Image of the Month
| Evaluation of Digital Photography | ||||||
| Digital Entries | ||||||
| Title | Category | Author | Star | Score | Award | Points |
| Blushing mallow rose | Open | Betzi Pierce | 3 | 9 | Silver | 2 |
| Bog Garden | Nature | Lynn Toms | 3 | 10 | Gold | 3 |
| ok chase | wildlife | Lorne Sulcas | 4 | 11 | Gold | 3 |
| Bolt | Scapes | Derek Goldman | 3 | 12 | Gold | 3 |
| Bright Barbet | Wildlife | Peter Franklin | 2 | 11 | Gold | 3 |
| Bubbling along | nature | marielouise cardwell | 2 | 11 | Gold | 3 |
| Catch of the day | wildlife | patrick cardwell | 2 | 8 | Silver | 2 |
| Changes | Abstract | Lynn Toms | 3 | 9 | Silver | 2 |
| Close Enough | Wildlife | Les Crookes | 3 | 10 | Gold | 3 |
| Damesal Fly | Macro | Ceridwyn Jamieson | 3 | 10 | Gold | 3 |
| Feathered jewels | nature | marielouise cardwell | 2 | 8 | Silver | 2 |
| First Light | Landscapes | Johan Kloppers | MB | 9 | None | 0 |
| Get out of my face | Open | Betzi Pierce | 3 | 9 | Silver | 2 |
| Haemanthus pollinator | nature | patrick cardwell | 2 | 9 | Gold | 3 |
| Hands | Landscape | John Engle | 1 | 11 | COM | 4 |
| ead to head | wildlife | Lorne Sulcas | 4 | 12 | Gold | 3 |
| Kamdoboo | Landscapes | Johan Kloppers | MB | 10 | Bronze | 1 |
| Locked Eyes | Wildlife | Les Crookes | 3 | 10 | Gold | 3 |
| meta | open | Peter Brandt | MB | 10 | Bronze | 1 |
| Morning Rendezvous | Nature | Didi Franklin | 2 | 10 | Gold | 3 |
| Out of nowhere | Wildlife | Peter Franklin | 2 | 12 | COM | 4 |
| Pastel Sunset | Abstract | Evelyn Lyle | 5 | 12 | Gold | 3 |
| Sorghum Feast | Nature | Ceridwyn Jamieson | 3 | 9 | Silver | 2 |
| Street Portrait Of A Dad | Open | dante Parisi | 4 | 12 | Gold | 3 |
| Sun Rising Through Mist | Open | Didi Franklin | 2 | 12 | COM | 4 |
| waiting in the rain | open | Peter Brandt | MB | 11 | Silver | 2 |
| Watchfull Mum | monochrom | dante Parisi | 4 | 11 | Gold | 3 |
| Yellow on Black | Open | Derek Goldman | 3 | 11 | Gold | 3 |
| Evaluation of Theme Photography | |||||
| Digital Entries | |||||
| Title | Author | Star | Score | Award | Points |
| Broken Pier | Peter Franklin | 2 | 11 | Gold | 3 |
| Crooked Spire | Lynn Toms | 3 | 9 | Silver | 2 |
| End Of The Line | Didi Franklin | 2 | 10 | Gold | 3 |
| InThe Light | Coral Surtees | 4 | 9 | Silver | 2 |
| Long and Winding Road | Geoff Jamieson | 4 | 10 | Silver | 2 |
| Rails End | Derek Goldman | 3 | 12 | Gold | 3 |
| Road to nowhere | Betzi Pierce | 3 | 9 | Silver | 2 |
| Savanna tracks & trails | patrick cardwell | 2 | 9 | Gold | 3 |
| The Road to Nowhere | John Engle | 1 | 10 | Gold | 3 |
| vanishing up the nose | Peter Brandt | MB | 11 | Silver | 2 |
| Vineyard lane | marielouise cardwell | 2 | 11 | Gold | 3 |
| Washed by the Rain | Ceridwyn Jamieson | 3 | 10 | Gold | 3 |
| Where Are We Being Led | Dante Parisi | 4 | 11 | Gold | 3 |
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
BLUE HEAVEN
Impossible beauty, tales of history, legends of shipwreck – all these and more are right here in one of the great bays of the world. So why are we photogs not out there in droves, capturing all this?
Stand on the beach, and for a moment it’s as though the world has been tipped into a vat of indigo dye. Blink and the wash of colour separates into different components, mountains purple topped with white cotton, sweeping azure sky, navy-green sea scattered with glitter.
The blue haze is False Bay, one of the great waterscapes of the world and the biggest true bay in South Africa. Although Naples might be a hot contender in the blue stakes, in a competition to find the most beautiful bay in the world, FB would be right up there with the best.
Why a fairly negative name for a beautiful place? Around 400 years ago when spice-hungry explorers from Europe were attempting to find a route to the East, they turned left when they thought they’d gone far enough south, and ended up at Cape Hangklip in error. They thought this was Cape Point and the southernmost tip of Africa, and when they discovered their mistake, they labelled it False Bay and retraced their steps.
Capricious moods render False Bay’s beauty fickle, though, and the weather can turn nasty in a moment. The coastline round the area is littered with shipwrecks that floundered in its treacherous seas; the original Cape lighthouse was erected in 1860 at Cape Maclear, to be replaced 50 years later by the most powerful lighthouse in South Africa, on the lower Cape Point.
History is seldom an objective study, digging far enough back into time and exploring the length of the coastline. Long before man ever tied two pieces of wood together to use as a raft, early Stone Age man roamed here, and middle Stone Age man wandered these shores 400 000 years later, hunter-gatherers all, as were the later Stone Age San, or Strandlopers. There’s evidence of all those long-ago lives in middens and stone implements that have been found over the years, sites of inestimable value but regrettably not open to the public.
I hope I’ve whetted your interest, look forward to seeing some False Bay images.
Salons
Salon dates for 2021 Salon dates for the following year are available from the PSSA website under the tab Salon Calendar and Results for the Year Ending June 2021, or from www.photovaultonline.com
All the brochures containing details are available on both the PSSA and Photovault websites.
Themes and Outings
Click here to view our themes and outings for 2021.
Formats and sizes of photo submissions, and naming conventions
Click here to find see the specifications for digital and print submissions.
Our committee
Click here to view our 2021 committee or to get hold of them.
